


Fall Softly

by sabinelagrande



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Huddling For Warmth, Just all the tropes basically, Post-Chroma Conclave, Pretending To Be Married, Sharing a Bed, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 17:15:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9247544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: A hunting trip does not go as expected, but that's just fine.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blackglass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackglass/gifts).



> I'm playing fast and loose with some of Vex's gear and spells. Just go with it. It's for the OTP.

It starts simply enough. There are two peninsulas to the east of the Alabaster Sierras, little more than spits of land, but one has a tiny town called Devra at the tip of it. Word reaches Whitestone that the town has declared a bounty on boars, too many of the things plaguing orchards and small farms. 

This is, of course, far beneath Vox Machina, and even farther beneath the nobility of Whitestone. It's the kind of thing that anyone with half-decent aim could deal with, despite the number of animals that it seems there are. The town will probably handle this on their own, perhaps aided by a few interested and hungry mercenaries.

However, they're in a bit of a lull, a few blessed weeks of quiet to balance out the too-fast pace of their lives. They've scattered momentarily; Keyleth and Vax are with the Air Ashari, Pike and Grog in Westruun, Scanlan with Kaylie and the rest of Dr. Dranzel's troupe. That leaves Vex and Percy in Whitestone, and by this point, both of them could use a break from having a break.

So they ride out to Devra; it's just far enough away from Whitestone that no one gives Percy a second glance, but just close enough that if things go south, Percy's name will still carry weight. They leave their horses there, setting out into the forest with Trinket in search of what will clearly be an unfair fight. The weather is cold and crisp, but not quite freezing, and Vex enjoys it, the bite in the air as they track and shoot; she appreciates the chill a little less when they have sex under the stars, but luckily it's a thing that tends to warm one up.

They're out hunting for two days before things go wrong. Vex is a ranger, not a druid; her knowledge of the weather is learned, not an inalienable part of her. She sees from the shifting skies that there is snow on the way, and judges that they have a few hours left to find shelter, just enough time to reach the outskirts of Devra if they hurry. She does not know that the snow will come in the form of a fast-moving blizzard, nor can she do a damn thing about it.

The snow is sudden, a light dusting that turns into a heavy fall within the hour, wind whipping it at them at high speed. 

"Do we try to make it to town, or do we go back and find a cave?" Vex asks, over the noise of the storm, as she pops Trinket back into her necklace. "I can't fly us in this weather."

"Town," Percy says. "There's no guarantee we'll-" He stops suddenly.

"What is it?" she asks.

"There," he says, pointing, and far away through the snow she sees a cabin. Even at this distance she can tell it's not much, but there is smoke curling up out of the chimney, and that is all Vex needs to see.

"Follow my lead," Vex says, and they trudge their way to the door. She pounds on it, but it doesn't open for a long moment, long enough that Vex thinks there might be no answer.

Finally, the door opens, the person on the other side having to push on it hard to budge the snow that has fallen against it. It's a woman, on the older side of middle age; she's wearing robes and a homespun shawl, and she looks so warm all bundled up that it makes Vex feel even colder.

"Can I help you?" she asks.

"I'm Vex'ahlia, and this is my husband, Percival," Vex says, not pausing so that Percy can't break in and correct her, "and we wondered if you'd spare a hot drink for some frozen travelers."

"Come in, come in, you'll catch your death," the woman says. "I insist you stay and thaw out. No one needs to be out in that snow."

The woman leads them in, and while she's not looking, Vex switches her ring of protection to the correct finger. She goes to nudge Percy, but he's already moved his de Rolo signet ring to his left hand, quick enough that she didn't notice.

"My name is Delia," the woman says, getting down three cups from the cupboard in the central room of the cabin. "You can set your gear down there in the bedroom, I'm sure you're tired of carrying it."

They divest themselves of their packs and bedrolls, piling them up in the seemingly unoccupied room adjacent to the main one. Vex almost keeps Fenthras with her, but if it came to it she couldn't really use it in here; besides, she's got a dagger in her boot just in case. She notices that Percy doesn't remove Animus from its holster, but the woman probably has no idea that she should be afraid of it.

When they go back to the main room and the warmth of the fire, Delia is whisking up three cups of the strong, herbal powdered tea that they drink this far north. "A little nip to ward off the chill?" she asks, holding up a flask.

"Certainly," Percy says.

"None for me, thank you," Vex says. While Delia pours a healthy measure of the liquor into two of the cups, Vex mutters an incantation and touches Percy's arm, so that at least one of them will be protected from poison. This is probably fine, but paranoia has gotten Vex this far, and it will continue to see her through.

Either way, Delia doesn't seem to notice; she hands a cup to each of them, and Vex wraps her fingers around it, lifting it to her face so that the steam can warm her still freezing cheeks. She doesn't actually care for the tea, which tastes too much like rosemary for her liking, but right now anything hot is a blessing.

"Thank you so much for taking us in," Vex says. "We thought we had enough time to get to town before the snow set in, but we were wrong."

"You wouldn't be the first or last to make that mistake," Delia says. "They say Talos himself controls the blizzards in these woods, and when they come, they hit fast and heavy."

"Tonight, I wouldn't doubt it," Percy says. "Do you live alone here?"

She shakes her head. "My daughter lives with me, but she's away. You picked a good night to get stranded. It gets awfully lonely when she's not home."

"Then we're happy to keep you company, darling," Vex says.

There is a companionable silence as they sip their tea; Vex is honestly getting a little drowsy, which is the fault of the warmth of the fire instead of anything sinister.

"How long have you been married?" Delia asks, and Vex knows she has to answer immediately and then work out the other details as the questions come.

"Two happy years," Vex says, looking at Percy with affection in her eyes, which is not a hard thing to fake. Percy smiles back at her, and it doesn't look false on his end either.

"Have any children?" Delia asks, smiling.

"Not yet," Percy says. 

The "yet" catches Vex's attention; she didn't expect him to lie and say they had some or to get into a philosophical debate with this woman on whether they were morally required to, but still it sparks something in her. She's thought about what her and Percy's children would be like, whether they'd have the sharp features of their mother or their father's quick mind or their uncle's penchant for stealth, if they'd have softly peaked ears but not grow up thinking they were deficient for not having more pointy ones. Their children would be nothing and everything like their parents, and she knows both she and Percy would do their utmost to keep them from going through as many tribulations as the two of them have known.

The conversation has moved on and Vex has missed the thread of it. Percy is explaining something about their hunting trip, so instead of talking, Vex leans into his side, letting him continue. It's nice like this, where they can just be Percy and Vex and not anything more, just some people enjoying a kindness and repaying it with companionship.

The hour grows late; Vex offers up some boar from the bag of colding, and they have a good meal, roasted meat and boiled tubers from the root cellar. Vex feels full and content, thankful they've stumbled into such a good situation when they could have easily died in the snowstorm.

Finally Delia stands up. "Let me show you to your room," she says. "I'm afraid it's a little drafty."

"I have no doubt it will be exactly what we need," Percy says.

She leads them into the same room where they stowed their gear, and Vex gets a better look at it. There's not much in it, a bed and a wardrobe, but it's nice enough.

"I'll leave you two alone," Delia says. "If you need anything before morning, I'll be in my room." She gives the two of them a knowing grin. "Good night to work on those kids."

"Sleep well," Percy says as Delia leaves, which is good because Vex is too puzzled to come up with a response.

"Did she just tell us to have sex?" Vex asks.

"There's a local belief that it's lucky for children to be conceived under one's roof," Percy says, before wryly adding, "wife."

"I'm so sorry," she says. "It was safer-"

He waves a hand. "No, it was a good decision," he says. "I just wish you'd told me. We could have come up with a fuller lie."

She rubs her arms. "Before we worry about that, let's get in bed. It's freezing in here."

"I couldn't agree more," he says, stripping out of his clothes. Vex starts on her own, hesitating when she gets to the pair of warm leggings she's wearing for insulation under her breeches. She wants to be next to Percy, but it's very cold. Percy does not have the same thought, ditching his union suit immediately and climbing under the covers. After another moment's consideration, she loses the leggings too; body heat and the inviting pile of blankets and furs on the bed will be enough to see her through.

Percy obligingly holds up the covers so Vex can crawl in next to him. "So, what kind of wedding did we have?" she asks, snuggling in close to him, greedily absorbing all the heat he gives off.

"That depends," Percy says. "Are we still nobility, or are we road-weary hunters?"

"The latter, I think," she says. "We wouldn't want to blow our cover."

He thinks for a moment. "We tried to have a small ceremony. It was going to be just us and a few friends."

"Our families interfered," she says, because this is a fantasy, and in a fantasy it's okay to want what you can never have. "The whole village got involved."

"But you insisted on your brother officiating," he says, because this is still a fantasy, but some things don't change. 

"He did an admirable job, you must admit," Vex says.

"If it hadn't been for him, the ceremony would have been three hours long," he says. 

"He got us quickly to the reception, where we all proceeded to get completely sloshed," she says.

"What else is a wedding for?" Percy says. "And then we started a happy life together in our quaint home."

"I'm afraid our definitions of 'quaint' might be different," Vex says. "You did grow up in a castle."

"Nonsense," he says. "We're just a pair of hunters, remember? I grew up in a house quite like this one."

"And our home is much the same," she says. "A little extra room for when we have those lucky children."

Percy hums, and for a moment Vex thinks she's gone too far. "Business at the forge has been particularly good lately," he says. "I think we can afford it."

"Perhaps we'll have three or four," she says.

"We will absolutely not have seven," he says, and Vex laughs.

She walks her fingers up his chest. "I'm not saying I'm ready to try for children just yet, but-"

"Maybe we should practice just in case," Percy says. "I mean, we were practically invited to."

They make love side by side, Vex's back fitted to Percy's front, his arms wrapped around her. It's slow, languorous; coming doesn't seem as important as being together like this, being joined, as close as they can possibly be. Vex lets herself get lost in it, lets the feeling take her over, like there is nothing in the world outside this bed, like there is nothing in the world except her and Percy. She laces her fingers into his, urging him to touch her where she needs it, guiding him. He's right there with her, like the two of them are one thing, and Vex wants it to stretch out forever.

When they're finally sated, Vex lies on her stomach beside him, taking in the loose, lax look of him, the peace on his face.

"Could you be happy like that?" she asks. "With just me?"

"No matter what lives we have, I will _always_ be happy with you," Percy says.

She slips the ring of protection off her finger, pressing it into Percy's hand and curling his fingers around it. It is both an impulsive action and something she's been meaning to do since what feels like forever. "This isn't a wedding ring," she says. "But it is a promise."

"Are you sure?" he asks softly, and Vex's nerves catch up to her, there to convince her that she's made a terrible mistake, that he doesn't want her the way she wants him.

"Honestly, I haven't been attuned to it in ages, if that's what concerns you," she says, though she knows it isn't. "I couldn't seem to find anyone who wanted it."

"Until now," Percy says. He takes her left hand, kissing her knuckles before slipping the ring back on her ring finger. "And I want to keep it right here, so I'll always know."

"I'll hold it for you," she says. "You don't have to worry about losing it."

Percy kisses her, his hand cupping her cheek. Vex rubs her thumb along the smooth surface of the ring; nothing is different about it physically, but it feels heavier now, more obvious on her hand. When they meet up again, Vax will notice in moments where she is wearing it, and there will be questions to answer, probably from everyone. It makes her a little tired to think about it, but pleased at the same time, honored that she has something like this of Percy.

Outside, the wind has died down, the snow falling silently. In the morning, it will be calm enough for the two of them to ride back to Devra on the broom. All this will be over soon, this respite, this masquerade, and they will have to face Whitestone again, go back to being who they are.

Right now, that's all later. Right now Percy is beside her, laid out for her to touch, and she'll make the most of it while she can.

Percy makes a noise of surprise when she jumps on him, but he doesn't push her away.


End file.
